Independent film studio Caviar–which continues to represent Sergi Castella in the U.K., France and Belgium–has extended its handling of the L.A.-based director to the U.S. market. Born in Barcelona, Castella has helmed global campaigns for Nike, Netflix, Adidas, Audi, Lexus and Hyundai, among others. Castella’s latest spot for Levi’s and online German retailer Zalando further demonstrates the dreamlike quality of his work, with youth culture at the forefront. Entitled “It’s Our Tomorrow,” the optimistic :60 imagines a future full of hope, poetically envisioned by various creative adolescents. Castella has recently branched out into the world of film. His latest short, Tu Niño (2022), uses a lyrical shooting style to explore the poetics of loss found in the immigrant experience. The film premiered at the Hollywood Shorts Fest and won Best Experimental Short. Castella is currently in postproduction on his new short film A Summer Job (2023), and is in development on two feature projects, The Ferrymen and Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Insha-Allah….
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” Tops Weekend Box Office
In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures' "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" sped past the Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters.
"Sonic the Hedgehog 3" debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates. With strong reviews (86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a high score from audiences (an "A" on CinemaScore), "Sonic 3" is well positioned to be the top choice in cinemas during the busiest moviegoing period of the year.
It was telling of some wider trends that "Sonic 3" — made for $122 million — bested one of Disney's top properties. Videogame adaptations, once among the most derided movie genres, have emerged as one of the most dependable box office forces in recent years. The two previous "Sonic" movies together grossed more $700 million worldwide and the third installment appears likely to do better than both of them. A fourth "Sonic" movie is already in development.
"Mufasa," however, was humbled in its opening weekend, with its $35 million in domestic ticket sales coming in notably shy of expectations . The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel even opened wider than "Sonic 3," launching on 4,100 theaters and gobbling up most IMAX screens, compared with 3,761 locations for "Sonic 3."
Though "Mufasa's" reviews were poor (56% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore.
"Sonic 3" nearly doubled the haul for "Mufasa," which cost more than $200 million to make. Disney could look to $87.2 million in international sales to help make up the difference. The third "Sonic" will rollout in most overseas markets in the coming weeks.
In director Jeff... Read More